Sunday, December 14, 2014

Best Songs of 2014 - Songs 1-10

Each December, the music blogosphere overflows with “best of” lists. We try to visit as many as time allows, because the December onslaught is a great vehicle for discovering music that would otherwise have been missed. During the year, the volume of interesting songs is so great that the expression “drinking from the fire hose” is appropriate.

Indie Obsessive is using the same ranking algorithm as last year:

Surely, we all recognize that the complex portion of the algorithm is an adaptation of the well-known arbitrage pricing approach developed in 1973 by Fisher Black and Myron Scholes. We suspect you use this formula for all of your arbitrage-related endeavors, just like us. However, the complex portion is multiplied by “0,” so the complex portion is irrelevant to the outcome.

Consequently, the ranking of a particular song is based on its value of P, where P is personal “preference.” Pretty simple – if we like a song slightly more than another song, it ranks higher. The flaw in the process is that the P value for a song is dependent upon our mood at the time, so the order of songs is likely to change from day to day. But while the order may change, the songs remain on the list, so you probably don’t care. 1. "Moosehead" by SPIES - It's a combination of factors that give this song the edge, including lyrics that are sometimes meaningless and other times thought provoking:

My mind is a six story building with suits

and dresses upon dresses entering in.

My mind is a freight train of thought that…

2. "Leave the Door Wide Open" by NO

3.“Wolf” by Mammals - This is a song with very different first and second halves.

4. “Looking Too Closely” by Fink - It wasn't until we saw Fink in concert that we realized that a voice can have charisma.

5. "Seasons (Waiting on You)” by Future Islands

6. “Get Hurt” by Gaslight Anthem – The band leaves its comfort zone (unfortunately under the urging of a divorce).

7. “Brother” by The Mispers

8. "Burn this House” by Mwansa

9. “We Never Win” by Whales in Cubicles - Every legitimate list must have at least one anthematic song. Here’s ours.